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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30031434">The Wild Bride</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WandererRiha/pseuds/WandererRiha'>WandererRiha</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Borrowed OCs, F/M, Gen, Naga, Snakes, fic at 2am, snek - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 00:08:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,425</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30031434</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WandererRiha/pseuds/WandererRiha</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis are Nagas, the only ones of their kind- or so Hojo had thought.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Elfé/Sephiroth (Compilation of FFVII), Genesis Rhapsodos/Shalua Rui</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Wild Bride</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Ya'll remember <a href="https://risingoflights.tumblr.com/post/182695447326/the-patreon-monthly-poll-is-now-ffvii-hybrid">this post from CrimsonSun?</a></p><p>The Inspiration Fairy bopped me on the head, so have some Naga AU.</p><p>Special thanks to @finesharp for the loan of Irena.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The boys were getting rowdy. Irena sighed and went to see what the problem was this time. The conservatory rattled and shook, echoing with silent shouts as the three naga’s rolled angrily about the enclosure in a tangle of wings and tails. Well, two of them were fighting- Sephiroth and Genesis again, no surprise- while Angeal looked on with an air of aggrieved resignation. Stepping over to the monitor, she ran the footage back a few seconds. Yep, Gen trying to assert his dominance again. Angeal seemed to understand that Genesis needed the outlet and...not suffered, exactly. Indulged his fellow hatchling when the solitude got to be too much. If they didn’t soon find a way to placate him that didn’t involve sedatives, they were going to have a real problem.</p><p>To be fair, it wasn’t <i>just</i> Genesis. Sephiroth had itchy spells himself. Angeal did too, but was usually far more subtle about it. Apparently teenaged boy jokes could be applied across all species.</p><p>“Another scuffle?”</p><p>Irena barely flinched, used to Professor Hojo’s habit of simply appearing at one’s elbow. “Yes, Professor. Shall I turn on the sprinklers?”</p><p>“No, no, they’ll sort it out. Genesis has got to learn some manners some time, after all.”</p><p>“Boys will be boys, I suppose.” Genesis and Sephiorth had already separated, both hissing angrily at one another from several feet away.</p><p>“Mm,” Hojo agreed absently. “Perhaps a civilizing influence is in order.”</p><p>--</p><p>The female arrived six months and several fights later. Irena wasn’t sure where she’d come from and knew better than to ask. She was easily as big as the boys, scales a mossy green flecked with blue and gold. Her hair- a brassy brown- had been chopped short at the wildlife refuge. Wild Naga’s were unbelievably rare. Evidently this one had been recovered from a secluded bit of forest atop a mesa in Cosmo Canyon.</p><p>For some reason, Irena had expected her to be civil, ladylike, at the very least more dignified than the hormone-addled snake-boys. Looking back, it was a ridiculous thing to assume. Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal had grown up in captivity. Elfe- as she’d been dubbed- had not. She woke groggy and suspicious of her new surroundings. Rather than throw her in cold (haha) she’d been given a far corner of the conservatory to herself. She was given a few days to adjust before Irena opened the vents so that she could scent the boys, and they her.</p><p>All three of them soon clustered near the glass wall, curious about this new thing. Elfe, however, as a wild creature, hid amid the rocks and bare branches of her habitat, deeply suspicious of her uncouth young suitors. Angeal soon lost interest, but the other two kept coming back to check on her. Eventually, sensing no danger, Elfe came down to investigate as well.</p><p>She seemed decidedly unimpressed with the three young bucks, surveying them with a disdainful look from her side of the glass. Arms crossed over her bosom and short hair bristling in warning, her posture remained closed and hostile. In her defense, Sephiroth and Genesis were <i>far</i> too eager to either make friends, or get lucky. It was hard to tell. Both of them had pressed their hands against the glass, leaning close, trying to catch her scent, their musk so heavy that Irena had to open the air vents all the way. Angeal observed from a more respectful distance, curious, but not amorous. Elfe noted him, evidently dismissed him as not dangerous, and paid him no further mind. Not until Sephiroth and Genesis had calmed down did Hojo give the order to raise the door set into the glass so that all four Naga could interact with one another.</p><p>It went about as well as expected.</p><p>Maybe it was hormones, maybe it was their territorial nature, perhaps a mixture of both. Either way, Sephiroth, Genesis, and Elfe managed to throw the sanctuary into a full-red alert with their brawling. Whatever the boys had tried, Elfe hadn’t liked it. Irena rushed into the observation room to find Professor Hojo already there, hurriedly keying the command to set off the sprinklers. The Naga screamed and separated, briefly thrown into confusion by the sudden shower. Sadly, it didn’t last. While the boys knew that indoor rain meant “break it up”, Elfe did not. Rather than let the boys escape she seized them each by the scruff and threw them to the ground. Genesis managed to roll away, unwilling to battle in the mud. Sephiroth, however, held on, trying to best this new combatant. Although the longest and strongest of the three, he’d never fought anyone but his equally domesticated brothers. Elfe was wild and fought accordingly, darting in and out, coils flashing, teeth snapping. A shriek, a shout, and Sephiroth lay flat on his back, arms pinned to his sides as Elfe loomed above him with murder in her eyes.</p><p>“Ready the sedative,” Professor Hojo commanded.</p><p>“Wait,” Irena cut in. “Look.”</p><p>“What?” Hojo asked sharply, irritated at having his command denied. Irena pointed to one of the monitors. The camera was situated in the rafters of the conservatory, allowing an overhead view. It had zoomed onto Sephiroth’s upturned face. Of course she couldn’t be sure, but if ever a Naga had had hearts in his eyes, this was it. Sephiroth’s dazed expression was unquestionably that of “I think I’m in love…”</p><p>Heartbeats ticked past. Finally, Elfe’s coils relaxed and she retreated. Satisfied that Sephiroth had been put in his place, she slithered back, allowing him to pick himself up. He stared after her as she left, head held high, disappearing into her side of the enclosure. Genesis came over and tried to groom the mud from Sephiroth’s hair, but Sephiroth waved him off, still staring after Elfe.</p><p>“Well, well,” Hojo mused. “Looks like that’s one problem solved.”</p><p>--</p><p>No one knew much about Naga courtship. No one knew much about Naga, period, but information was especially sparse regarding mating behavior. If one could call it that. Elfe was definitely playing hard-to-get, and seemed disinclined to come out of her tower of sandy stone. Sephiroth would visit daily, a longing Prince Charming to her Rapunzel, and wait for her to come down. Sometimes she would crawl to the sunning deck and hiss down at him, splitting her jaws and waving her tongue. He seemed as bewildered by this as she was by his blank response.</p><p>At first, Elfe had dismissed his blank stares and turned her back on him. After days of this, however, Sephiroth hissed back. Elfe responded by what could only be described as laughter. Sephiroth sulked, and turned to rejoin his brothers. She hissed after him, air whistling through closed jaws this time, and he stopped and turned. She flicked her tongue, blinked, hissed again. Sephiroth offered an awkward imitation. Leaning down on her elbows, Elfe regarded him, turning her head to one side and then the other. After a moment, she beckoned- a surprisingly human gesture- for Sephiroth to join her. He climbed up on one of the dead trees, draping himself across the bare branches. With his full attention on her, she hissed; slowly, deliberate. When she finished, Sephiroth did his best to mimic her, repeating himself until he got it right.</p><p>Irena turned the volume up on the recording devices, watching, enraptured. Naga were incapable of human speech. Although their faces perfectly resembled that of a human, the internal structure was all wrong. Two sets of teeth, a forked tongue, and a jaw that could dislocate at will did not lend itself to Midgarian. Evidently that did not mean that Naga did not have language. Elfe coached him through the whispered syllables, the hissing nuances of word and phrase, slowly, patiently, teaching him to speak.</p><p>Honestly, it made sense. Females had always been at the forefront of language, no matter the time, place, or species. Perhaps Elfe had been a lore keeper among her own kind? This in mind, Irena made it a point to try to engage Elfe in signing. Although the boys had been taught sign language so that they could interact with their keepers, they rarely used it unless pressed, and never used it with each other. Getting Elfe’s attention involved a lot of hissing nonsense at her like an idiot. The only creatures Elfe trusted less than the boys were her human keepers. Eventually, Elfe decided that Irena could be tolerated if not trusted. After a couple attempts, she seemed to understand what was being asked of her. She picked signing up rapidly; her intellect and ability to learn as great or greater than any the boys had displayed. They all understood Midgar and Wutaian, could read and write, but cajoling them into participating in testing was always a challenge. Whether this was because the boys were tame, male, or just weren’t interested was anyone’s guess. Elfe was wild, female, and driven above all by a will to survive. This was proven by her first sentence:</p><p>
  <i>I go home.</i>
</p><p>This proved several things. One, Elfe understood Midgarian- and likely Cosmo, possibly Costan- even if she couldn’t speak it herself. Two, she was aware she was a captive and wasn’t happy about it. Three, she was very much aware of who was in charge.</p><p>“Don’t you like it here?” Irena asked. “It’s always warm, you have all the food you could want, you have friends. Wouldn’t you like to stay?”</p><p>
  <i>Very nice. Thank you. No. I go home now.</i>
</p><p>“Now’s not a good time.”</p><p>
  <i>When?</i>
</p><p>“I don’t know,” Irena told her. “I’ll ask the Professor.”</p><p>--</p><p>Irena did ask, just not right away. Much like the boys, Elfe didn’t ask or interact unless prompted, so Irena was spared having to stall or make up a story. Irena was beginning to think the lack of interaction was a Naga thing as opposed to a boy thing. Perhaps they didn’t see humans as equal life forms, or perhaps they found it more trouble than it was worth to communicate? It was something to study further.</p><p>Elfe, at least, had eager students in the boys. All three of them sat willing under her tutelage, learning to speak words that fit their mouths. Not only that, but the cameras picked up glyphs and ciphers scratched in the dirt. Evidently Naga had their own script as well.</p><p>“Teach me?” Irena asked. </p><p>Elfe looked confused. <i>Why?</i></p><p>“I want to learn.”</p><p>
  <i>No.</i>
</p><p>“Why not?”</p><p>
  <i>Human.</i>
</p><p>She would say no more about it.</p><p>--</p><p>Elfe, it seemed, was all about defying expectations. Although Naga were far more advanced than the average monster or wild animal, they were by no means human. Not just Irena, but most of the staff had expected the boys to assert their dominance and get right to business. Months later, there had been no reptilian hanky-panky that anyone could observe. Not between Sephiroth and Elfe, anyway. Yes he doted on her, eyes going soft whenever she was nearby, and following her around like a puppy. They’d nap on the same sunning rock, tails loosely intertwined, in full view of all and sundry. Sephiroth sat still and let her plait his hair in what was surely the height of fashion for the Naga male in Elfe’s tribe. He’d never let anyone except Genesis or Angeal touch his hair before. For all that, their courtship was playing out more like a period drama and less like a nature documentary. Irena half expected to see Sephiroth kiss her hand and bow, though of course he never did.</p><p>Perhaps instinct and hormones could only carry one so far. Naga had language, writing, a culture of their own that was virtually unknown to humans. Once again Elfe seemed to be leading, clueing Sephiroth into the nuances of courtship. It was at once curious at how much overlap there was with human displays of affection, and jarring when the differences inevitably sprang up. For example, holding hands was very much a thing. Elfe would often take Sephiroth’s hand and lead him over to a particular spot where they would lounge together, or to show him something interesting that she had found. Then she would just...not let go. Sephiroth didn’t seem to mind in the slightest, and eventually took to shyly taking her hand when he wanted her attention. Irena found it positively adorable when they lay with tails entwined, the very tips waving and smoothing against each other as if toying with one another’s fingers. Sometimes they would go for walks- slithers?- together, coils looping and overlapping in a dizzying tumble yet somehow they never entangled or tripped and fell.</p><p>All this stood in sharp contrast to the more...reptilian behaviors, like unhinging their jaws so the other could massage the roof of their mouth. What they got out of that Irena wasn’t sure, but it seemed to be a sort of grooming or comforting behavior that would be considered casual, but only between those who knew one another well. And of course there were the more typical animal behaviors such as musking, scenting, and generally being a lot more familiar than a human would consider acceptable in public.</p><p>Genesis and Angeal tolerated Elfe, or had until she began to take more and more of Sephiroth’s time. Genesis picked fight after fight, even going so far as to try to push himself on Sephiroth and then Elfe. She retaliated with a remarkably human rebuke: smacking him across the face with one hand. She did not seem angry, but instead moved closer, perhaps to check for injury. Genesis shook himself, coming down off his testosterone high, and then slunk off to hide in the foliage. After a beat, Angeal followed.</p><p>For a moment Elfe stood silent as Sephiroth went over her, checking for injury, licking at scrapes and bruises that barely merited such fussing. Gently, she waved him off and slithered straight for the door that connected the conservatory to the labs and knocked. All the techs stared. Even the boys had never done this. Elfe waved, trying to get their attention. Bemused, Irena went over to see what she wanted.</p><p>“What is it, Elfe?”</p><p><i>Genesis,</i> she spelled out.</p><p>“What about him?”</p><p>Elfe thought for a moment, searching for words. <i>Heart. Friend. Love. Affection. Share. Alike. Soul.</i></p><p>“Are you saying he needs a companion?” Not simply that. She was struggling to find the right words, something that hinted at an emotional bond as well as animal reproduction.</p><p>
  <i>Yes.</i>
</p><p>“Alright. I’ll see what I can do.”</p><p>--</p><p>Where they were to find Genesis a suitable young lady was a bit of a problem. Nagainas didn’t exactly grow on trees. Eventually, there was a call from Corel.</p><p>“We rescued a sand snake,” the conservationist explained over the phone. “However, she’s in rough shape. She must have tangled with something in the past because she’s missing an eye and her left arm. Will that be a problem?”</p><p>“No,” Hojo decided. “Send her over.”</p><p>This time, they prepped the boys and Elfe regarding their new roommate. Only Elfe gave any sort of acknowledgement, the boys simply absorbing the information in silence. Shalua- the name the conservators had given her- was placed in her own corner to start. She was more reserved than Elfe, preferring to hide rather than fight. The two females seemed to get along well enough. Irena had expected some sort of territorial squabble, but none ever materialized.</p><p>Perhaps because they’d done this once already, or because she was so obviously injured, the boys behaved better toward Shalua than they had Elfe. No one tried to challenge her or fight her. Indeed, they were very solicitous of her. Food was shared and assistance offered in recognition of her disability. As long as no one approached her on her blind side, Shalua seemed content with her new friends and surroundings.</p><p>Content, but not happy. Although she seemed to enjoy Genesis’ attentions- he’d been doing his own Mr. Darcy impression for her- she seemed forlorn and downcast. Could Nagas become depressed? Irena and the other techs checked her for illness and injury, but found nothing beyond the scars she’d come with. Unsure what else to do, Irena called the conservators who had rescued her.</p><p>“Oh, she might be missing the little one.”</p><p>“Little one?” Irena echoed.</p><p>“We found an adolescent female with her, probably a younger sister. I wasn’t sure how a juvenile would fare among adult males, but if you want, I can send her over too.”</p><p>Professor Hojo signed off on the paperwork the same day.</p><p>--</p><p>Shalua was overjoyed to have her sister back. Angeal also perked up. Although he’d never shown interest in either of the females, or sex in general, he seemed excited to be a father figure. The term ‘brood male’ was tossed around the labs as Angeal doted on Shelke as if she were his own daughter, laughing and playing with her. </p><p>Elfe and Shalua had indeed been a calming influence on the boys. If there were fights, they were friendly matches of strength and speed that left few marks and didn’t set off the emergency alarms. It was not, however, the kind of wrestling everyone was hoping for.</p><p>Sephiroth followed Elfe around like a puppy, never far from her side. Likewise, Genesis devoted himself to Shalua, careful to make sure that she lacked for nothing. Hojo had voiced some concerns regarding a mate for Angeal, but Angeal didn’t seem to care. Indeed, he seemed relieved not to have to regulate his brothers, content to sleep in the sun with Shelke curled up beside him.</p><p>“Quite the happy little family,” Irena remarked as she and Professor Hojo watched the six Naga going about their daily business.</p><p>“Indeed,” Professor Hojo agreed. “First comes love and all of that. We’ll have to consider expanding. They’ll be feeling cramped before too long.”</p><p>“Sir?”</p><p>“Hatchlings, my dear. They can’t hold out forever.”</p><p>Nor, it seemed, did they want to. The two couples had gotten progressively more mushy with each other, though nothing worse than teenagers kissing at the local mall. Although none of them appeared bothered by their own nudity, Naga apparently had a sense of modesty about these things. Elfe had proved that she was aware of the cameras and didn’t much care for them. She’d covered over the lens hidden in her burrow, which blocked visual, but not audio. It also did not block the heat sensors built into the man-made structure of her little tower of stone.</p><p>“We got activity!” Irena crowed as red and yellow began to pulsate on the screen. The entire lab whooped like a classroom of middle schoolers. There wasn’t much to see, but it was still enough to make her cheeks burn. Maybe she’d just check the highlight reel later. Reaching, she turned off the monitor.</p><p>“Let’s give them some privacy. We can check back later.”</p><p>Although the heat scans got the point across, the tape could hardly be called graphic. Watching blobs of color writhe around on the screen wasn’t as scintillating upon replay as it had been in realtime. It turned out several other cameras had been either smashed or covered, and those blind spots soon became favorite corners for trysts for the two couples. Heat signatures popped up without rhyme or reason as one or the other sneaked out of view for some time alone.</p><p>Naga, it seemed, weren’t necessarily ruled by their own reproductive cycles. They had sex for the fun of it, not neccearily to have children. Indeed, none of the girls had been in heat, which meant no chance of offspring. Maybe it was more about intimacy, and a marking of emotional territory. Her suspicions were confirmed when Sephiroth and Elfe emerged from her rock burrow- they shared it now- each with a wound on their upper arms. Elfe’s was on her left, Sephiroth’s on his right; their non-dominant sides. Elfe saw to bathing and dressing the wounds daily with mud. It wasn’t until Genesis and Shaula showed up with a similar set- Genesis on his left arm and Shaula on the remaining few inches of stub- that Irena began to wonder.</p><p>The wounds seemed superficial, and the girls were taking care of them, so no one bothered about it until the next scheduled checkup. Beneath the mud was a double set of scars; tattoos formed from bite marks filled with ochre, one larger and thicker, one smaller and more delicate. Comparing the marks to impressions taken of the Nagas’ dual set of jaws confirmed it.</p><p>“Marriage tattoos,” Professor Hojo mused. “How fascinating. They’ve each made their mark on the other. Wedding rings, if you will.”</p><p>Irena added ‘wedding rings’ to the growing lexicon of terminology.</p><p>--</p><p>When the weather turned cold, things got serious. The fooling around in isolated corners had apparently been just that; practice for the real thing. After their solstice feast of dual horn and behemoth, the Naga would be ready to hibernate. Gorged to the gills, each retreated to their own burrow to sleep until spring. Angeal and Shelke’s nest remained quiet, their signatures cool green and blue as they slept. The two couples, however, got down to business and kept at it for a while. Not until the following day, when their heat signatures had cooled, did anyone venture into their enclosure to see what was going on. It was warm as a sauna inside the burrow. Husband and wife lay nestled in each other’s coils, still coupled, sound asleep. The restored camera showed very little movement, though every so often they’d wake up just enough to make love again and then fall back to sleep without ever fully regaining consciousness. When spring came, both Elfe and Shalua emerged heavily pregnant.</p><p>Professor Hojo was overjoyed, constantly muttering to himself about ‘grandchildren’ and making plans for the nursery and further expansions to the conservatory. Elfe, it seemed, had other ideas. When she approached the lab door and knocked, the others stood behind her.</p><p>
  <i>We go home now.</i>
</p><p>It was not a question.</p><p>“We’ve prepared a lovely nesting ground for you and your children,” Irena insisted. “Please, stay until they’re born.”</p><p>
  <i>Thank you. No. We go home now.</i>
</p><p>“I’ll talk to the Professor and see what he says.”</p><p>Elfe scowled, but said no more.</p><p>--</p><p>It was obvious Elfe wasn’t going to share any additional information. Instead, Professor Hojo took it upon himself to interview his sons. It was harder than expected to separate the boys from their spouses, but the girls reluctantly retreated, preferring not to come any closer to him than they had to. Angeal handed off a wary Shelke to her sister before slithering over the raised platform where his ‘father’ stood.</p><p>“Hello children. Congratulations to you. I am so very happy for you.”</p><p>
  <i>Thank you, Father.</i>
</p><p>“Tell me, what is this nonsense about going home? Are you not happy here? Do you lack for anything?”</p><p>Sephiroth exchanged a look with his brothers, hissed a few slippery words, and turned back to the Professor.</p><p>
  <i>Sky. Open air. Open land. No walls.</i>
</p><p>“You wish to be free? To go out into a world you have never known?”</p><p>
  <i>Yes.</i>
</p><p>“The world outside was not intended for the three of you. You could not survive, nor could your wives or your children.”</p><p>All three of them gave him a rather unimpressed look.</p><p><i>You are food,</i> Sephiroth signed. <i>We eat all others. No one eats us. We will survive.</i></p><p>Hojo blinked, taken aback. “Humans have weapons, Sephiroth. I hate to think what a sword or bullets would do to any of you.”</p><p>
  <i>We will travel far from humans. We will not hunt or eat them. Elfe will go home. I will go with her.</i>
</p><p>--</p><p>“Later” happened the following month. The girls must have been watching the stars and the weather through the glass ceiling of the conservatory. True spring and warmer weather were finally on the way, which meant it would be safe for the Naga to leave their enclosure. Although the girls had been given the nursery tour and fussed a bit with the nesting pits they’d been provided, neither had settled into the area. Elfe and Shalua had yet to exhibit any sort of nesting behaviors, despite being obviously pregnant. Shalu had a decided baby (egg?) bump, but Elfe was positively enormous. Her last checkup indicated multiple eggs, at least two, possibly three, yet all either of them seemed to want to do was lounge in the sun. This, Irena reflected, was fair. Pregnancy- or so she’d heard- took a lot out of you.</p><p>There had been nothing to indicate plans of escape besides the earlier conversations. Evidently, when Elfe said “now”, she meant it. The alarm hadn’t even been tripped. Irena arrived at the conservatory, began going through her morning checks, and quickly came to a horrible realization: the Naga were gone.</p><p>The security cameras- those that survived, anyway- showed how and when. The Naga had risen with the sun, and climbed to the tops of the highest trees. From there they had climbed up onto the ventilation system and then the rafters. It had been simple for Sephiroth to push one of the plates of glass out of the way and slither up onto the roof. From there he leaned down to help the others outside. From there, the footage cut to one of the cameras that monitored the drive and the fence that ringed the property. It had been thought that the boys’ wings were incapable of flight; too small for their body weight and useful only from gliding from tree to tree. As with so many assumptions, this too proved incorrect.</p><p>The last shot was a brief few seconds of the boys flying high above the treetops. Sephiroth had Shalua in his arms and Shelke on his back, while Angeal and Genesis bore Elfe’s greater weight between the two of them. </p><p>How was she ever going to explain this to Professor Hojo?</p><p>Oddly enough, he took it in stride.</p><p>“One cannot expect children to remain in the family home forever,” he said philosophically. “Eventually, they must make their own way in the world.”</p><p>“Sir?” Irena had fully expect to be fired- perhaps shot- on sight for allowing such prized specimens to escape.</p><p>“My dear, they are microchipped, or did you forget?”</p><p>Oh. Right. Yes. “Shall I deploy a team to track and retrieve them?”</p><p>“Track, yes. Retrieve...not at the moment. We’ll let them have their little adventure. After all, it’s been a long time since I’ve done any field work.”</p>
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